STUDENTS will be stepping into the shoes of the homeless this term with a new project alongside charity Nightsafe and Healthwatch Blackburn with Darwen.

Not only will the youngsters from Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio be going to interview the homeless at Nightsafe centres in the area but they will also be leading art therapy workshops.

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The students are hoping to show homeless people how art therapy can help them express their feelings and also how it can help to communicate things they find hard to talk about.

Humaira Kamal, 18, said she was really looking forward to discovering what life was like for the homeless and how Nightsafe has helped them.

She said: “We hope that we will be able to communicate with people through art because I think some will find it hard to express their feelings through words.

“We also want them to see how art can work as therapy for them.

“I am looking forward to learning how they go about their daily lives and how they actually became homeless.

“It’s been an eye-opening project for me so far and I know that talking to these people is going to be interesting.”

The project has been devised by Healthwatch Blackburn and Darwen which is trying to raise awareness about the work of the Nightsafe charity.

As well as teaching art therapy, the students will be trying to create a short film documenting a day in the life of a homeless person as they carry out interviews with them.

Health and social care teacher Lindsay Masterson, who is working on the project with students, said: “It has been a privilege to be involved with this because it is a very real experience for the students.

“It’s so good for them to be doing this at such a young age and opening their eyes to what life can be like for others.”

Headteacher Ruth Bradbury said: “We are really pleased to be involved with this project, especially as it fits so well with the creative and care aspects of our specialist curriculum.

“We pride ourselves on giving students opportunities for real work and project experience, so that they can be fully informed when they make career choices and have experience for their CVs.”